Hope in Darkness
by RenadaStyles
Summary: With Alucard gone and the remnants of the Major's destruction writhing on Britain's streets, where else can there be hope but in darkness... One-shot... Takes place where manga left off before the thirty year lapse... Please enjoy and review.


Though the Major was dead and his army of freaks vanquished, ghouls still haunted the streets. It would be her duty as well as that of her remaining soldiers to deliver the death sentence to their fellow countrymen, women and children. It caused a sick churning in her stomach; however, it would have to be abated till her home, the nation and building, were rebuilt, political order restored, and the freaks banished from this earth... It was a duty that would take a lifetime, if not more.

Integra allowed her mind this tangent as she watched the men lug a coffin down the dark stairwell and into the musty dungeons of Hellsing manor. The stairs creaked and groaned in protest; they had already suffered abuse... The entire mansion had suffered abuse: walls were missing, segments of ceiling threatened to collapse, small fires were still flickering dangerously near tattered tapestries and rugs... Her home, her station, her defense against the world and evil, was crumbling.

Her country was crumbling...

A loud thump indicated the coffin had finally been delivered to his domain; and, from her revery, she was unlatched. It was lucky that she had sent her men to retrieve the artifact almost immediately upon their regrouping; otherwise, it would be resting on the ocean floor. Alucard would not have been pleased, to say the least.

Assuming, there was an Alucard to displease.

She decidedly glared at the singular item before curtly dismissing her men. They nodded understanding and ascended.

Seras, appearing from a wisp, lingered in the doorway, uncertain if she should intrude upon her master's master's moment. She had been delayed in dealing with a group of ghouls that had been idling near the docks. She hadn't realized how long she had been fighting till she peeped an eye around her surroundings to note Hellsing's remnants had moved back to the mansion.

Integra, unaware of Seras' tentative appearance, stood staring at the coffin a moment more before doing something quite rash; she attempted to pry the lid away. She strained and heaved and huffed for several minutes before slamming her fist and sitting upon it. She mumbled, though Seras was able to discern the words, "You bastard. I told you _not _to close your eyes. I _ordered_ you..."

Seras bit her lower lip and shuffled her feet. The dark asthma that replaced her arm writhed.

She cleared her throat, giving Integra the courtesy to know she was not alone. Rather than bolt upright, the woman merely crossed her legs and lit a cigar. She was far too accustomed to sudden appearances.

"Sir... He will come back."

Integra raised a brow beckoning the vampiress to continue. "He will. I can sense it... I am his fledgling." She stated the apparent fact as though it gave weight to her otherwise intangible argument.

Integra cast a final glance at the coffin before rising and dusting off her bloodied garments. "Let it be our only hope in this time of darkness. We've ghouls to vanquish, a nation to rebuild, a political upheaval to avail, and the cries of our people to answer." She took a long pull of the cigar before dropping it and stubbing it out with her toe. "Are you prepared, police girl?"

Seras tilted her head with a thoughtful look, placing a finger upon her chin. "Our only hope is in darkness." A smile slowly formed on her face with a hint of something sparkling in her red eye. "Ready when you are, sir."

Integra gave a small smile before striding toward the chaos of the world above. "Then let us not dally. It is nearly time for tea, and you know how I hate to miss my tea."

"Will you be having Ceylon, sir?"

"As always, Seras. I do hope your time as a vampire has not made you forget the fine art of making tea."

"Not at all, sir." Seras secured the door that led to her master's coffin with a tender touch. He would be back... she had more than mere hope.


End file.
